Hi I'm Philip Newey, author and editor. Here are some thoughts, ideas and other nonsense. I may, at times, express some views that offend some readers. I make no apologies for that. Read on at your own risk. Be sure to also visit my writer's page: http://philipnewey.com. I also run a manuscript services business called All-read-E: http://philipnewey.com/All-read-E.htm

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The bikies are going to get me!!!

Recently in
Queensland, the state government has passed what it considers to be tough
‘anti-bikie’ laws to crack down on what are perceived as criminal bikie gangs.
Apparently these are suddenly such a threat to our society that laws which undermine
basic human rights are necessary to ‘protect’ us all. Here we go again. Another
bunch of unnecessary and draconian laws to protect us from yet another imagined
threat. Let’s not worry about real threats, such as those to the environment.
Instead, let’s pass dangerous laws that may be populist in the short term, but
probably won’t achieve what they aim to achieve, and open the doors for even
further human rights abuses in the future.

Oh, I’m sure all
Queenslanders feel so much safer now. I’m sure, like me, you have lain awake in
bed at night in terror of these bikie gangs.

Governments love to
target an ‘enemy’. No doubt it gives them a sense of power. They can claim to
be getting tough: doing ‘something’. It is only too easy to play upon people’s
fears. And, let’s face it, people seem to scare easily (except about climate
change, apparently). The other easy target for governments (including this
state government) is paedophiles. I am one of those bleeding heart liberals who
happens to believe that even paedophiles have legal (and human) rights; which, of
course, will immediately lead to accusations that I am ‘protecting’ them or am
in some way defending their actions. No. I am simply pointing out that paedophiles
remain human beings. We do what governments and frightened people always do
when we label them ‘monsters’: we try to define them as non-human so that we
can treat them in any way we wish. Need I point out that this is a slippery
slope?

The crimes allegedly
committed by members of bikie gangs are already crimes. They are not worse
crimes (or in any way different) because they are committed by people who
identify with such an organisation. I felt the same way about anti-terrorist laws.
As far as I am aware, it was always illegal to set off a bomb in order to kill
or injure people. Special laws and penalties are not required to deal with
this. It is now, apparently, illegal for any three or more members of an
illegal gang to meet together (for any purpose). Too bad if these people also
happen to be friends, cousins or brothers. Three brothers, who happen also to
belong to such an organisation, can no longer have Christmas lunch together. I
presume it has always been illegal to meet together to conspire to commit a
crime. That in itself is already, probably, a slightly silly law. Now, of
course, the presumption is that whenever
any three or more people who belong to such an organisation meet together it is
for the purpose of carrying out or planning a crime.

Let me think.
Presumably people who don’t belong to any identifiable criminal organisation
have in the past, are at present, and probably will in the future meet together
to plan nefarious deeds. After all, apparently 99.4% of all crimes in
Queensland are committed by people who do not belong to these identified
criminal organisations. Are you in a restaurant right now, reading this on your
smart phone? Are their three or more people having a meal together right now in
that restaurant? Oh my God, are you
having a meal with two or more other people right now? What if they (or you)
are planning a crime? Any group of three or more people, anywhere, anytime,
might be planning a crime! Oh my God! Government,
please step in and protect me! Let’s make it illegal for three or more people
to meet together anywhere, anytime. That should make me safe!

This is, of course, ridiculous.
Or is it? There are reasons why we protect the right of legal assembly; and
reasons why governments past, present and future are suspicious of such rights.
All kinds of human rights abuses can be ‘justified’ in the name of protecting
us. Governments with too much power—as Queensland’s government does have right
now, without an effective opposition and without an upper house of review—seem only
too quick to abuse that power.

I would rather be
accused of being a ‘bleeding heart liberal’—and even actually be one—than stand
by and watch our rights eaten away in the name of ‘sensible’ and ‘appropriate’
measures designed to ‘protect’ us. I suspect we are more often in need of
protection from governments than by them.

2 comments:

I just wish we could come up with an answer, Philip. Stupid laws are not going to change the things you speak of, or guns and drugs in schools, and drugs being put in drinks in bars. There are already laws against all of this, just like gender and racial equality, etc. The courts find loopholes (just like Congress), the perpetrators get released from prison to do it again. So until the existing laws are enforced there will be no change. The new laws will simply give perpetrators and prisoners further civil rights, when they should be stripped of their rights. No one wants more taxes, and yet all you hear is that the cops need more money to staff up, and the schools need more money to improve conditions and grades, etc. etc. And when we give them more money, it goes to existing salaries which are again overdrawn after the next union contract. Here in Las Vegas, jobs are still a problem, housing is still depressed, and everyday there are more murders, rapes, fires, murder/suicides, kidnappings, etc. etc. But everyone wants more money from us, including the Feds. Is this the future of man? Or just a last hurrah before a generation puts their collective feet down hard. Otherwise, we will start to live in closed environments, having our food and necessities delivered via internet, go to school via internet, converse via internet ... oh wait! We already are doing that. Never mind.